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<title>Do you mean... dolphinfish? by Lesbean (AlreadyJade)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25701547">Do you mean... dolphinfish?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlreadyJade/pseuds/Lesbean'>Lesbean (AlreadyJade)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Day At The Beach, Devil fruit users still cant swim, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, General Shenanigans, Meant to be college AU but its not mentioned in text</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:29:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,664</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25701547</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlreadyJade/pseuds/Lesbean</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Strawhats are going to the beach, and Chopper worries about being unable to help his friends if they get hurt where he cannot go: the water. His solution? Give his best effort to keep them from going into the ocean at all!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Monkey D. Luffy &amp; Tony Tony Chopper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Set Sail One Piece Mid Year Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Do you mean... dolphinfish?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=tanoshiit+on+tumblr">tanoshiit on tumblr</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Chopper is not nervous. Nope. Not at all! Not one little bit!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was no way he could be nervous! Chopper was always excited to go with his friends wherever they went, and this time is no different! The beach may practically be swimming in potential health hazards from sunburns to cuts from seashells to jellyfish stings to drowning to- oh who is he kidding, he is extremely nervous, and he has good reason to be! The ocean is very dangerous and, if one of his friends got hurt in the water, he wouldn’t be able to help them because he never learned how to swim!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Of course, this little detail may have never been mentioned to his friends, which led to his current dilemma. Should he tell the truth that the largest amount of water he had ever been in was snow and he never learned to swim?  No, that wouldn’t work, his friends might still go to the beach anyways, and besides, he knew that Zoro would probably find him mentioning snow a challenge to get as many temperature-related health problems as possible. Chopper had no idea how he had ended up okay after getting lost and wandering around in snow without a shirt on back at Drum, or why he was seemingly trying to become the newest iteration of the yeti legend in the first place, and at this point he was too afraid to ask. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So onto the next possible solution, since Chopper decidedly did NOT want to see what new and likely terrifying way Zoro would attempt to challenge Mother Nature and fate itself… and he really didn’t want to admit that he never learned to swim… and may or may not be a little nervous about the water in general- </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oh! That’s it! Water! If he could keep the crew away from the water, he could keep them from being in danger where he couldn’t reach them! It’s a foolproof plan that even Luffy couldn’t mess with! After all, how hard can it be to keep a bunch of college students from going into the ocean at the beach? Not too hard, right? </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With these not at all foreshadowing words, Chopper set out to pack a medical kit for the beach and flesh out the details of his little plot to prevent his friends from swimming. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! Is that a dolphin over there?! Maybe it was a whale! Sanji, do any type of cows live in the ocean? I’m hungry!” Luffy screamed as he ran closer to the waves for the hundredth time. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sanji just shook his head and went back to unpacking the picnic basket he brought, while Chopper came to the realization his plan was not nearly as foolproof as he thought it was, especially when the fool in question was Luffy. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chopper had tried everything he could think of to keep Luffy from the water, even coaxing Luffy away from the waves with sandwiches he brought for that exact purpose, but his sandwich supply was running low and Luffy kept running back to the sea. Thankfully, his other friends had been much easier to keep from the water, with Robin being content to read a book she brought on marine biology, Zoro to nap, Usopp to build his own sand fortress, and Sanji to hand out food to the others and occasionally start conversations about various seafood cuisine whenever he was out of Luffy’s (admittedly impressive) hearing range. Nami had almost gone for a swim at one point, but Chopper was able to distract her temporarily with a metal detector. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But back to Luffy. Chopper was at his wits end! Honestly, he felt like breaking into sobs right then and there. Was it really so bad to want to keep his friends as safe as he could? With as many times as Luffy ran to the water he had exhausted every plot that Chopper crafted beforehand, barring the last resort plan of just hanging onto Luffy’s legs and hoping for the best. Would it work? Probably not, but it had about as good of a chance as any other method, so he supposed it was worth a try. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Now, how to even grab Luffy in the first place? Currently his target was running around in ankle deep water, but Chopper did not want to enter the water at all if possible, no matter how shallow. Maybe he could- Oh! The target has left the water to run over to Usopp! If Chopper was careful, now was the perfect opportunity to put the newly named “Operation: Seriously, Please Luffy, Out of the Ocean, Sincerely, the Chopper without Help,” (SPLOOSCH for short) into play. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chopper breathed in to steady himself, then ran as fast as his little legs could carry him over to Luffy, who had just turned to run back to the sea, and then launched himself off the sand. To Chopper it felt like hours passed with him flying in the air until he finally made contact and latched himself onto Luffy’s leg. Success! Now Luffy would have a lot more trouble going to the water!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, hey Chopper! Whatcha doing? Is this a game? What's it called?” Luffy asked as he continued running to the shore, seemingly unhindered by his new baggage.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chopper once again was at a loss. If even this couldn't slow Luffy down, what could? If Chopper had felt a little like crying before, he really wanted to now. He started sniffling as his eyes welled up and the water of the sea crept closer and closer and closer until… It stopped? What? How could that be? A Luffy in motion stays in motion and a Zoro at rest keeps napping, and as far as he could tell from a quick glance over his shoulder, Zoro was still asleep! Was something wrong with the water?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey buddy, you good down there? Did you get sand in your eyes or something?” Luffy asked, slight concern in his voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Bwah?” Chopper intelligently responded, as he realized that against expectation, and possibly physics, Luffy had actually stopped in his race to the seawater.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you okay? Is there something you need from your kit? Do you wanna see if Sanji brought candy?” Luffy asked again, this time bending down slightly and prying Chopper from his spot on Luffy’s leg.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luffy made eye contact with Chopper, concern for his friend evident on his face, and Chopper started crying. Though Chopper didn’t realize it, this drew the attention of the rest of the group, who each started trying to figure out what was wrong and what they could do, starting with Sanji who looked through his basket for the popsicles he had packed with Chopper in mind.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>For the third time, and with worry clear in his tone, Luffy asked “What’s wrong Chopper? What do you need me to do?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chopper couldn't hold back anymore and everything burbled out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“IB ZORRYY! I Jus wanded do keep you guyz zafe cause beaches and wadder gan be very dangerous, and the on land ztuff I gan manage, BUD I CAND ZWIIMM!! And I was WORRIED ABOUD YOU cauze if zomething happened do you in the wadder I wouldnd be able do help! AND YOU GEPT GOING INDO THE WADDER AND I tried do geep you from the wadder BUD YOU GEPT GOING AND GOING AND GOING AND GOING! And I was WORRIED bud I didnt want do zay I couldnd zwim and either be left behind or cause you guys to choose to not go do the beach and go somewhere else instead!!” He blurted out between sniffles.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luffy hugged Chopper close to comfort him as Robin approached them with a blanket for Chopper. “Chopper, it's okay! There's no need to apologize! I'm glad you care so much about us, but none of us want you to bottle up your feelings! We all care about you, and if you are worried about something we are here for you! We would never leave you behind. Also, there's no need to worry about not being able to swim! I can't either!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chopper felt a little like crying again, but this time for a happier reason. “Thank you Luffy!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He paused.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, you can't swim?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope! Not a bit! Neither can Robin!” Luffy declared with a grin brighter than the sunlight beating down from above.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chopper looked back towards Robin for confirmation, and when she nodded he turned back to Luffy, filled with confusion.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then why did you keep going in the water?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Cause of dolphins! Aren't they supposed to be tasty?” Luffy, who was also becoming confused, replied. “I heard some people mentioning seeing dolphins in the water on the way here!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dolphins! You know, those big, yellow fish? We saw some at the aquarium the last time we went!” Luffy prompted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chopper paused for a moment. “Do you mean… dolphinfish?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah! Those! Wait, aren't they the same thing? Is dolphinfish the word they use at Drum?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, not really, no? For one, dolphins are aquatic mammals and a lot more likely to be found at the surface. Dolphinfish are fish, and I don't think you could even get one from the shore? To my understanding they usually live over a hundred feet down!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ohhh! Cool! So they are different? And it would be hard for me to get the one I want?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep! Do you wanna know anything else about them?” Chopper asked, a bit happier after being able to share what he knew.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope! You’re really smart Chopper! Do you wanna go see if we can build a better sandcastle than Usopp?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And away the two went. Chopper felt a lot better after talking with Luffy, and was grateful for all of his friends. At the end of the day, as Chopper sat with his friends and ate the popsicle Sanji had given him, he honestly felt really happy with how the day had turned out.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is my gift for tanoshiit on tumblr for the setsail exchange! I hope you enjoy it! Have a wonderful day!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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